


Divorce

by stardustandswimmingpools



Series: hamilton prompt fills [3]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Divorce, F/M, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Lawyers, Past Abuse, Platonic Female/Female Relationships, again i am not a lawyer do not take my word on any of this, but this is supposed to be mainly about maria reynolds ok, i know nothing about being a lawyer, im also sorry for including so much fuckin theoburr i got carried away theyre so goddamn cute, sadly burr is a lawyer so i had to bullshit a lot, the maria reynolds situation, theo and maria are cute af, theodosia and aaron continue to be couple goals, there's a bonus scene at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-01
Updated: 2016-09-01
Packaged: 2018-08-12 10:59:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7932067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardustandswimmingpools/pseuds/stardustandswimmingpools
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maria is in a toxic relationship and relies on Aaron to help her divorce her husband.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Divorce

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TeasTakingOver](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeasTakingOver/gifts).



> this one was again based on a prompt by @TeasTakingOver and the prompt is literally the summary  
> ~HUGE disclaimer: i know nothing about being a lawyer most of this is b.s. with like 0.1% research law is complex ok i don't know how divorces work~  
> I also including kinda a lot of Theoburr because they're so cute and I got carried away so sorry about that

 

It was half past eleven on a dark, velvety night in Manhattan, a night where even if you could ever see stars in New York, you wouldn’t have been able to that night. Aaron’s girlfriend, Theodosia, was already asleep, bless her, and Aaron was sitting placidly in his living room, his TV on and playing some sort of drivel on a low volume. Aaron didn’t need to be awake, but he felt that if he stayed up long enough, he’d find some kind of work to do and then he’d be glad he’d stayed up. This rarely happened, but Aaron insisted on staying up late anyway. Plus, he kind of liked the dead silence of the apartment around midnight.

A rapid-fire knock at the door cut through the quiet, ricocheting off the walls of the apartment and startling Aaron to reality. He jumped up and opened the door, and his confused stare was pointed at a distressed-looking Maria Reynolds, who hurried into his place with surprising ease and pushed the door shut behind herself.

She seemed out of breath and almost terrified, and Aaron gathered his thoughts before tentatively asking, “Uh, Maria, not that I mind having you here, but can I help you?”

Maria nodded shakily. “I, um, I need a place to stay. For some time. Until I can go home.”

“Why can’t you go home? Here, sit,” Aaron said, remembering his hospitality even at the latest hours. He gestured towards the couch and Maria gratefully fell into the cushions. “And keep your voice down, Theodosia is sleeping.”

He knew exactly why Maria couldn’t go home, but he wanted to hear her say it. He wanted to _help_ her.

“My husband, he’s treating me dreadfully,” Maria said in a hushed voice. Aaron couldn’t tell if she was being quiet out of respect for Theo or fear that somehow, in this enclosed space, the man Aaron knew as James Reynolds would crash through the door and beat Maria. Aaron’s heart bled for her, and he hated to imagine such a lovely woman as her in a relationship like the one she was trapped in now. More than once he’d had to refrain from practically begging her to get out of this relationship. Maria had relayed some of the things James did to her, never in much detail, just enough to know that it was toxic. He knew it was none of his business to get into their marriage and mess things up, but there had to be some kind of line at abuse. Aaron was a lawyer — he could help her.

“Maria, have you ever considered divorcing him?” Aaron asked, keeping his voice steady as he’d learned to do. A calm tone of voice helped soothe the person being questioned, and Maria marginally relaxed.

“I wish I could, Aaron, but I — he won’t let me, he threatens me with t-terrible things, and I don’t have the money for a lawyer anyway, so I — I can’t,” she said, fumbling over her words.

Aaron put a comforting hand on Maria’s shoulder. “Why don’t I help you? I’m a lawyer, and you won’t have to pay me until you’re free from this relationship and you have a steady job with a good salary. I want to get you out of this awful marriage, Maria. I know you fell in love with him years ago, but clearly he’s different.”

Maria looked at Aaron beseechingly, and then she began to cry in earnest. Her chest rose and fell irregularly, and her voice filled the room with angst. Torn between wanting to tell her to be quieter so as not to wake Theo and wanting to comfort her, Aaron settled for reassuring “shh”s, and gently stroked her hair and she sobbed into his shoulder.

The light in the hallway flickered on and a sleepy Theo padded out of bed in her slippers and pajamas. The scene in front of her confused her.

“Sweetie?” she asked groggily. “Why is Maria in our living room at midnight?”

Maria and Aaron looked up at the same time, both with guilt apparent on their faces. The tears on Maria’s face and quivering lips shone, and Theo softened immediately.

“Maria, honey, what’s wrong? Come and give me a hug,” Theo said, and Aaron felt a rush of affection for his girlfriend. No, a rush of love. He had surprising difficulty admitting it, even in his head, and he had yet to say it out loud.

Maria got up and threw her arms around Theo, mumbling into her shoulder.

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. He is a dick. Don’t worry, Aaron is an excellent lawyer.” She kissed Maria’s hair and then winked at Aaron. “You’ll be out of that relationship in no time, don’t you worry.”

Maria sniffled and pulled away, looking from Aaron to Theo and back. “You two are the best,” she said warmly. “Thank you so much.”

“Anytime,” Aaron said earnestly. “Theo, I’m so sorry for waking you.”

“Not a problem. Anything for my girl Maria. Honey, I was hoping you’d come to us,” Theo said honestly, rubbing Maria’s back consolingly.

“Anyway, Theo, you’re welcome to go back to bed, and Maria, you can sleep in the guest bedroom,” Aaron said, drawing a quick kiss from Theo’s lips before ushering her back to their room.

“You can borrow some clothes from me,” Theo said over her shoulder as she headed to bed. “And sweetie, come to bed soon.”

“I will, just let me get Maria settled,” Aaron promised.

Maria swiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. “I really appreciate this, Aaron. You’re too kind.”

Aaron had always had a soft spot for Maria Reynolds — she was relatively soft-spoken, but full of kindness and innocence.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, patting her back. “Let’s get you some pajamas and you can get right to sleep.”

~

Divorces were always messy, but Aaron had learned to cope with the chaos that accompanied couples splitting. Still, no divorce he’d ever worked on had been as disastrous as the case of James and Maria Reynolds.

James refused to allow Maria to divorce him, blustering that he would do bad things to Aaron if he so much as approached Maria with any sort of legal documents. He then told Aaron he couldn’t hang out with Maria at all, because “what if she develops feelings for you? She’s my wife, you ingrate!”

“I’m in a committed relationship, Mr. Reynolds,” Aaron said through gritted teeth. “You, on the other hand, are an abusive husband, and not only is that against the law, you’re hurting your wife. You will be taken to court and a divorce is going to be filed for your marriage with Maria.”

“I refuse!” James shouted. “You have absolutely no right to tear apart my marriage! Maria loves me. You understand?”

“Whatever the case, this relationship is unhealthy,” Aaron said, resisting the urge to list of the exact place in the Constitution where it stated that he did, in fact, have this right. “If you don’t stop threatening me, I’ll have to call for backup and have you handcuffed. Please just cooperate.”

James seemed to hesitate for a minute. “You’re the devil,” He seethed, jabbing a finger at Aaron’s chest. “Fine, I’ll do your divorce, you sonofabitch. Fuck you.” He spat at Aaron’s feet and then practically shoved him out of the house.

Aaron stood on the front stoop of the Reynolds household, in shock at what he’d just seen — he’d met James Reynolds before, but never under such circumstances. He shook himself off, feeling tainted from being manhandled.

“What a piece of work,” he muttered as he got into his car to drive home.

~

“Hey, Theo. Maria,” Aaron greeted as he opened the door to his apartment to find the two ladies sitting on the couch, watching a movie. Upon closer inspection, the movie appeared to be _National Treasure._ Theo clicked the mute button as he walked in.

Aaron leaned in and kissed Theodosia sweetly, then bit back a silly grin as he said, “I spoke to your h — James,” to Maria.

Maria looked up at him immediately. It had been a few days since she’d temporarily moved in with him and Theo, and they couldn’t have asked for a better house guest. She was gracious, kind, never overbearing, and always with impeccable manners. Theo’s mission was to get her to relax — she and Aaron had privately shared that she most likely was forced to act this way at her own house too, to avoid being beaten. The way she planned to do this, apparently, was by sitting Maria down on the couch in pajamas at 2 pm and watching _National Treasure_ with ice cream and popcorn. It seemed to be working, at least: Maria did look more at ease.

“What did he say?” she inquired.

“Well, he cursed me out, told me you loved him, refused to divorce you until I threatened to handcuff him, and then finally complied and spat at my feet before shoving me out the door,” Aaron summarized, sitting beside Theodosia on the couch and sighing heavily.

“I’m sorry,” Maria said in a small voice.

“No, no, it’s not at all your fault,” Aaron said reassuringly. “Your — James is just an asshole. It has nothing to do with you. But anyway, he’s going to court and being tried for domestic violence, and god knows there’s enough evidence to put him behind bars. We have to take it to the Criminal Court, and hopefully we’ll have enough evidence against him that he’ll be found guilty and prosecuted. If he pleads not guilty, which, let’s be honest, he probably will, we’re going to need a couple of witnesses.”

“I love it when you talk politics,” Theo said with a warm smile, kissing him.

Aaron still felt those butterflies. How did he get so lucky as to end up with Theodosia? He chuckled.“Maria, you’re probably going to need to be a witness and speak in court against James. Do you think you can do that?”

Maria looked frightened. “What would that mean?”

“Give your testimony against James. Tell the jury what he did to you.” Aaron looked her in the eyes, and tried to use a calming voice. “I know it’s going to be hard, but you can practice on Theo and I and maybe some other people. This is the only way we can prove that James is a little bastard, but I need your help.”

Maria nodded, scared but resolute. “I can do it. Anything to get that son of a bitch in jail.”

Theo looked scandalized. “Maria! Young lady, watch your mouth!”

Maria chuckled. “Guys, I’m really very thankful for this. I can’t thank you enough. This is all so kind.”

“Oh, he’s happy to help,” Theo said, tugging Maria closer and rubbing her shoulders. “And I’m happy to provide the ice cream and the movies. Babe?” She added, directing her words at Aaron.

“Yes?”

“This is a girls’ viewing only.” She kissed his cheek and shooed him off. “Go, do some work.”

“Alright, alright,” he surrendered, and retreated to his shared room with Theo.

He shut the door and wandered around the room a bit before settling in to do some more work. On the windowsill was a framed picture of him and Theo. Theo was laughing, and her smile was illuminating the room, and even now Aaron remembered that fluttery feeling he’d gotten when he’d heard that laugh for the first time. Picture-Aaron was looking at Picture-Theo with love, and for the rest of his life he would claim that the only reason he looked good in this picture was because Theo was in it too.

They’d been together around a year now. Why couldn’t he push those words off the tip of his tongue?

“I love you,” he said, practicing. The picture said nothing. He bit his tongue and put the frame down before sitting at his desk. With a sigh, he picked up a pen. There was a lot to be done.

_~three weeks later~_

“Mr. James Reynolds is found guilty as charged,” the judge said, “and will face two years in prison as a punishment for his crimes. Ms. Maria Reynolds will be given compensation by Mr. Reynolds for personal injury to her, and damage to her belongings. This compensation will be paid in installments. Court adjourned.” He banged his gavel twice and James Reynolds sputtered his protest.

Maria looked at Aaron, bright-eyed (or were those tears of happiness?), and Theo looked at him with an expression full of love, and Aaron fought to maintain his professional demeanor as he said, “Thank you, Your Honor.”

He gathered up his belongings and gestured for Maria and Theo to join him. Maria practically ran at him, flinging herself around him with enthusiasm.

“Thank you so, so, so much,” she gushed, and her voice was so full of delight that the weeks of work and effort that Aaron had put into this case were all immediately worth it. “You’re a lifesaver, Aaron.”

“It was my pleasure,” Aaron replied, hugging her. “I’m glad you’re free now.”

Maria pulled away from him and then wiped her eyes — so they were tears of happiness. She smiled wetly. “Yeah, yeah, I am. I really appreciate this, Aaron. I know I keep saying it but I mean it — I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”

“I was happy to help,” Aaron said, and he put an arm around Theo, who had been standing by, a sparkle in her eye and a smile dancing on her lips. “And Theo was happy to be the best goddamn hostess ever.”

“Well, you were an amazing houseguest,” Theo justified. “And, honey, I am so happy for you. And you!” She added, turned to Aaron. “You won your case!”

Aaron smiled widely and Theo kissed him, long and sweet.

“I’m so proud of you,” she said earnestly.

“I love you,” Aaron said suddenly. It felt less like a weight off his shoulders and more like a pleasantly fiery sensation in his chest, right around his heart.

Theo didn’t even blink. “I love you too, Aaron Burr. So much.”

Maria was smiling, but it looked melancholy. “You two are perfect. Don’t you ever let go of each other,” she warned.

Theo looked at Aaron and Aaron looked at Theo. “I wouldn’t dream of it,” Theo said, warmth in her voice.

Aaron kissed her forehead, then said, “Maria, let’s get home. You’re welcome to keep staying with us.”

“Actually, I got a job,” Maria said as they exited the courtroom.

“Really?” Theo said excitedly, and then: “Doing what?”

“I’m working with Hercules — he offered me a job working at his tailor shop, and I took it. He also offered me a place to stay, and I figured you guys could use some space,” Maria said.

“When did you intend to tell us this?” Aaron asked.

“Right now.”

“And if I’d lost the case?”

“I knew you wouldn’t,” Maria said simply, shrugging.

“You two have too much faith in me,” Aaron mumbled, blushing.

They got in the car and Theo began to drive them home.

“We’ll get your stuff and drop you off at Herc’s, then,” Theo suggested.

“Thank you. Thank you so much for letting me stay with you — really, you guys have been so wonderful and accommodating and I’m so grateful,” Maria said.

“Honey, there’s a limit to how many times you can thank us,” Theo joked. “You’re going to run out.”

Maria giggled.

  
**\+ BONUS**

 

_~a couple months later~_

“So,” Aaron said, fidgeting with the hem of his t-shirt, “I know you and I don’t always get along, but you’re married, and you and Eliza are great together, and…”

“Dude!” Alexander looked at him in astonishment. “Are you gonna propose?”

Aaron slowly pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket, and Alex clapped a hand over his mouth.

“Oh my god! That is so sweet!” Alex practically squealed. Aaron sniggered, and Alex fixed him with a look.

“Sorry, sorry, I’m just nervous. I was going to propose tonight, but I have no idea how or what to say or anything.”

“Are you asking how I proposed to Eliza?” Alex asked eagerly. “It was right before bedtime, and we’d gone out to her favorite restaurant, and she was sleepy and she kissed me goodnight and I got down on one knee and gave some emotional spiel about how much I loved her, and I asked her to marry me. She squealed and said yes and kissed me, and then we went to bed.”

Aaron _aww_ -ed. “That’s a great engagement story,” Aaron said. He looked at the box sadly. “How am I ever going to top that?”

Alex paused for a beat, then said, “Okay, that was a complete lie. It was a little less romantic. We were on a roller coaster and as we all know Eliza hates roller coasters but I’d made her go on this one. I intended to propose later that day — that story I told you before was how I _planned_ it — but honestly, we were going down the roller coaster, Eliza was terrified, and she grabbed my hand and held on for dear life and kind of whisper-shouted ‘Alex, will you marry me?’” Alex blushed at the truth of the story. “I was a bit shell-shocked, but after we got off the ride I asked if she really meant it and she said ‘of course, you idiot’ and I said that of course I wanted to marry her, and that was that.”

Aaron thought about that. “Well, that might be easier to top.”

“Look, buddy, what I learned was you just have to put your pride away,” Alex said seriously. “It’s tough to just put yourself out there and tell all your feelings to the person you love the most out of anyone in your life, but if it’s the right person you won’t mind it. Be honest, not cheesy. Unless honest is the same thing as cheesy, which it probably is for you.”

“But what if she says no?” Aaron voiced his main concern, tugging at the suddenly constricting collar of his shirt. “What if she thinks I’m going too fast? We’ve only been dating, like, a year and a half.”

“Aaron, you and Theo are the most married couple I know, even including Liza and I, and you’re not even married. I wouldn’t be surprised if you told me you’d been engaged since you met. There’s no way she would ever say no,” Alex reassured him.

Alex was right. She didn’t say no.

 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!! sorry for all my lack of lawyer knowledge im sorry but hopefully you were able to look past it!! hmu @vivilevone or @justcuzfandoms on tumblr and have an epic day


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